Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 6, 1 Iune 2023 — Moananuiākea: Connected by the Ocean [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Moananuiākea: Connected by the Ocean

By Kalawai'a Nunies TheAlaska Federation ofNatives recently welcomed Hōkūle'a atAukeBay on the traditional lands ofAak'w Kwāan in Juneau,Alaska,forherupcoming voyage, "Moananuiākea: A Voyagefor Earth. " Moananuiākea will be Hōkūle'a's 15th major voyage. The ambitious, four-year expedition will begin this month (June 2023) and end in 2027. It will involve some 400 crew members who will sail an estimated 43,000 nautical miles around the Paeihe, visiting 345 ports, nearly 100 Indigenous territories, and 36 countries and archipelagoes. "The Moananuiākea Voyage will be longer [in terms of distance traveled] than the Mālama Honua Voyage in 2014-2017 - and we're only going around the circumferenee of the Paeihe Oeean," said Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) member Chris Blake. In preparation for the journey, Hōkūle'a was transported via Matson to Alaska in April. In an interview with Hawai'i Puhlie Radio published on April 17, Master Navigator and PVS President Nainoa Thompson explained that the decision not to sail Hōkūle'a from Hawai'i to Alaska was made to protect both the crew and the eanoe ffom the extreme cold still prevalent at that latitude in the spring. The Moananuiākea Voyage will begin in Juneau, Alaska, with an expected launeh date of June 15. Hōkūle'a will sail to Seattle, Wash., and meet up with sister eanoe Hikianalia. The voyage will continue south along the U.S. West Coast to Mexico, Central and South America, and then cross the Paeihe beginning March 2024 and travel

to ports throughout Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia for more than two years. The canoes are scheduled to arrive in Japan sometime in September 2026. From there, they will be shipped to Los Angeles, sail home to Hawai'i, then travel to Tahiti and back in spring of 2027. While the Mālama Honua Voyage circumnavigated the planet on a conservation mission to engage people from around the world and eall attention to the importance of caring for "island earth" and its precious gifts - and finite resources - the purpose of the Moananuiākea Voyage is to "ignite a movement of 10 million 'planetary navigators' by developing young leaders engaging communities around the world to take Dart in navigating the earth to-

wards a healthy, thriving future." The voyage will also serve as a global educational campaign that amplifies the vital importance of oceans and Indigenous knowledge through education and storytelling. "Western thinking held the idea that the Pacific Oeean separated us from our cousins in Kahiki and all over the Pacific. But every time we sail on the ala kai (oeean pathways) of our ancestors we are connecting to them. The oceans never ever

separated; our oceans always connected us," Blake said. Moananuiākea highlights the importance of marine environments above and below the water. Blake explained how every one of two breaths we take comes from the oxygen transfer generated from the Pacific Oeean. PVS hopes that the voyage will empower other island communities to take charge of their environments and to push toward a more sustainable earth for future generations. Blake cited as an example the establishment of fishing zones to stop extractive methods and overfishing. Blake is also a kumu at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama where he teaches "Kilo Hōkū," a year-round class that educates haumāna about celestial and non-instru-ment navigation. "The first thing we learn is the history of hōkū, hiki, and mō. Ihen we'll start making our own star compasses, orienting ourselves in the environment, and learning about the star lines," said Kilinoe Oliveria, a haumāna of Blake's and alaka'i of his Kilo Hōkū class. "At the end of the year we plan our own voyage and make our own sail plans - how long it's going to take, where to travel, what to eat, how many members, and who's going to be in charge of what." "It's humbling to pass on the teachings from the people I've learned from. To share this 'ike is important, said Blake." The University of Hawai'i is another Moananuiākea Voyage education and mission partner. PVS member and UH Kumu Ka'iulani Murphy teaches two courses on ho'okele (navigation); Hawaiian astronomy and navigation, and Hawaiian voyaging and seamanship. "I'm grateful to have this avenue to share this 'ike that have been shared with me," said Murphy. "It's eool to eome full circle ffom being a student to becoming a kumu. I feel lucky to give hāumana the opportunity to be involved with ho'okele. It makes me happy." Having had the opportunity to take ho'okele classes with Kumu Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa and huaka'i (travel) off of Moloka'i inspired Murphy to get involved with the Hōkūle'a and the perpetuation of 'ike ho'okele. Kekuhiapoiwa Leong is one of Murphy's students. "We spent the semester talking about how the wa'a works, the different lines, and the different ways of voyaging," Leong said. "It became super real when we put up the mast for the first time, all hands pulling on the lines for the first time and yelling 'huki!"' Seeing haumāna eliek with "aha!" moments is rewarding for Murphy. "It gives me hope that the knowledge will continue." The sailing of Hōkūle'a and perpetuation of 'ike ho'okele across schools in Hawai'i is part of the Moananuiākea Voyage's mission to inspire other Indigenous people to bring traditional knowledge back into classrooms and into the real world. ■ For more information visit www.hokulea.com or follow @hokuleacrew on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Hōkule'a docked at Auke Bay in luneau, Alaska. - 0 outtesy Photo

«— — — / / / / / Lucy Lee handles the hoe 'uli (steering paddle) on a training sail to Papahanaumokuakea. - Photo: Chris Bloke